User blog:Bubblespawn/The usual suspects part 2 - Some notable nasties
In the last post, The usual suspects - opinions on special infecteds I discussed the main category of special infecteds. In this one, I want to talk about some of my other favorite characters that you will meet which, while not truly "special", might make your life a misery, or at least has made mine difficult on more than one occasion, and to whom special attention should be paid: The Doctor This practitioner of the medical arts will toxify you, and sometimes twice, for 12 seconds, which in Dead Maze time, is too long. Having two of those little Toxic status icons is bad enough, but whenever you take damage from this status, it will interrupt your ability to open a loot bag or revive a fellow player. The best way to alleviate Toxic status is to run through a puddle and get "Wet". This might not always be feasible, so I like to find a dark corner and wait for it to wear off, and also possibly activate my Self Heal skill to counteract the speed at which my HP is dropping. If there are more than two of these, try to split them up using a Projection weapon like a baseball bat, and take them out separately. The Soldier My next "favorite" is the soldier. This long dead veteran of whatever wars went on before the world went to hell will stun you for a few seconds. This is not such a bad thing, but the stun statuses can stack if you are hit upon by more than one of these, or if you are stunned in the vomit circle of a Puker , or the toxic blast radius of an exploding Unstable , that can be quite frustrating, and lead to your untimely demise. My strategy with these fellas is to a) make sure they are alone when I take them on, and b) hit and run.I don't believe they can stun you if you are Unleashed, so if you use a Combat Knife to take them down, and combo a few times to ensure you are unleashed, that should keep you safe. Also, I use the to dodge. The Fisherman Here is another favorite of mine that has caused me to go on the defensive. These guys will always inflict the status Wet on you, and *sometimes* electric, which will trigger the elemental effect of stun on you. This can really put a damper on your day if you are in the middle of a herd. Enter a group of two or more of these guys coupled with a Puker , and this could spell real trouble. I like to separate them with a projection weapon and take them on alone. You can also try using a weapon with Unleashed and provided you keep activating your Combo, the Unleashed will protect you from any control effects. The Quarterback Whenever I head out onto the football field at Mazon, I always draw the anger of the herd of Quarterbacks that for some reason seem to want to bully me by pushing me around. Yes, these guys have a projection attack, which means that they will literally push you around. Since they seem slightly faster than other infecteds (not as fast as the Tracker), I run around them in circles (if feasible) to tighten their herd, and then place bombs (incendiary and toxic) which they happily run right over. If you aren't lucky enough to have the Survivor Gear that gives these, some alternatives are a Wolf Trap , Molotov Cocktail (thrown) or Formula X (toxic version of Molotov) The Lumberjack This guy has the opposite effect of the Quarterback and is worth noting. He has a negative projection, which draws you right next to him. If he appears in a herd along side of a puker, or an Unstable that is about to blow, this can be a problem. I normally leave this guy until last, because more often than not his effect pulls you out of the way of other infecteds that are attacking you. This includes if you are slowed down or rooted. If there are more than one of these guys, I try to separate them with a projection weapon, so that they are far enough apart so that they don't both hit me at the same time Conclusion It helps to know how these guys attack and what their movement patterns and attack patterns are. I will be writing other articles on the pros and mostly cons of some of the other nasty infected personalities you can meet in the world of Dead Maze Category:Blog posts